Marketing audit: objects, process, example. Site Audit

Marketing audit is one of the most important moments in organizing the effective work of an enterprise. It can be carried out on their own or with the involvement of third-party specialists.

Definition of a concept

Marketing audit is a management activity aimed at identifying shortcomings in the marketing system and lost profits associated with them. Based on the results of the audit, an optimal strategy is built, and consultations are held on this issue.

A marketing audit is a systematic, periodic, objective, and most importantly, independent audit. It affects not only the internal, but also the external environment. The audit can be carried out both on the organization as a whole and on its individual divisions. This activity aims to identify “bottlenecks” in the field of marketing, as well as to draw up a plan to eliminate them.

Principles

Both internal and external marketing audits are carried out in accordance with fundamental principles. These include the following items:

• Comprehensiveness. An audit should not be limited to analyzing problem areas. It involves a comprehensive review of all marketing activities.
• Systematic. Audit activities should be streamlined and consistent. In this case, the diagnosis should cover not only internal units, but also the external environment.
• Independence. Marketing audits should be impartial. If objective independent research is not possible, third-party specialists should be involved.
• Periodicity. Often, management initiates a marketing audit only after the amount of profit begins to decline. To prevent a crisis, the audit should be carried out regularly with a certain frequency.

Objects of study

In the verification process, specialists are faced with two groups of indicators: those that they can influence, and those that are not under the control of management. So, the objects of marketing audit are as follows:

• internal and external environment;
• organization marketing strategy ;
• enterprise marketing system;
• form of marketing management organization;
• the effectiveness of the current system for the enterprise as a whole and for its individual units.

Main stages

The marketing audit process includes a number of successive steps. These include the following:

• Preparatory stage. At this stage, the first contact occurs between the client company and the auditor. There is a discussion of significant points and preliminary consultation. The head also instructs the departments to provide auditors with all the necessary information.
• Diagnostics. The auditor identifies the most significant facts regarding marketing activities and carefully analyzes them. Relationships are established, as well as the degree of compliance with regulatory or planned indicators. It is worth noting that already at this stage, the auditor can make some adjustments to the work of the organization through conversations with staff.
• Planning. At this stage, the specialist is looking for optimal solutions. They are aimed at compensating losses from lost profits, as well as preventing similar situations in the future.
• Implementation. The preparation and implementation of planned activities is ongoing. At the same time, the auditor can directly participate in this process or act only as a consultant.
• Conclusion The auditor provides the customer with a full report on the activities performed, as well as the first results achieved. Negotiations on prospects for further cooperation may also be held.

Areas of audit

The marketing audit of the company is carried out in several significant areas. They can be described as follows.

Audit Components

Marketing audit as the basis of a successful enterprise strategy includes a number of components. The main ones are the following:

• analysis of the external marketing environment (special attention is paid to the microenvironment, which includes the market, competitors, distribution system, etc.);
• analysis of marketing strategy (developed program and degree of its implementation);
• analysis of the organizational structure (study of the work of each unit separately, as well as determining the effectiveness of the relationships between them);
• a qualitative analysis of the marketing system (information security, planning efficiency, control organization, etc.);
• quantitative analysis of the marketing system (profit in relation to the cost of marketing activities);
• functional analysis (product and pricing policies, distribution channels, advertising and the effectiveness of public relations).

Advantages and disadvantages of external audit

External marketing audit is quite common, for which third-party specialized organizations are often involved. It is characterized by such advantages:

• rich experience in this field;
• availability of necessary information for making effective management decisions;
• specialized knowledge that the auditor can transfer to company management.

Nevertheless, there are a number of negative aspects characterizing such a marketing audit. The service has the following main disadvantages:

• the high cost of professional auditors;
• confidential information falls into the hands of third-party specialists, and therefore there is a risk of its leak.

Features of internal audit

Internal marketing audit involves an independent audit by the company's own efforts. The following characteristics can be considered advantages of this type of activity:

• significant cost savings;
• trade secrets will not go beyond the organization;
• employees of the enterprise are well acquainted with the specifics of its work, and therefore do not have to spend time collecting information.

Nevertheless, a marketing audit of an enterprise is not always possible on its own. This is due to such disadvantages of this type of activity:

• company employees are not always objective in assessing its work (this may be due to the specifics of relations with superiors or the desire to hide their own mistakes);
• lack of experience and specialized knowledge in the field of audit.

Marketing Audit Example

In order to understand how the marketing audit procedure proceeds, it is worth considering it with a generalized example. Suppose there is a certain network of fast-food establishments "Pie". So, the goal of the auditor is to assess the real state of affairs, as well as to develop recommendations for further activities.

Thus, the specialist will face the following tasks:

• Drawing up the characteristics of the advertising activity of the enterprise, for which such data is collected:
  • total cost of self-presentation;
  • assessment of the quality of promotional materials;
  • distribution channels for advertising (how does the information reach the consumer);
  • establishing the relationship between the volume of the advertising budget and the profit of the enterprise received in the reporting period.
• Analysis of data for each branch:
  • convenience of location;
  • assessment of the external design of the institution;
  • dining room functionality;
  • rationality of the organization of work and production facilities.
• The ratio of the load of the enterprise with the total profit:
  • study of accounting information;
  • breakdown of data into shorter control periods for the purpose of more detailed analysis;
  • timekeeping, which will establish the institution's throughput per unit of time (number of people, average check amount, assortment of products sold);
  • capacity assessment;
  • compilation of an analytical table to bring the data into a visual form.
• Preparation of a report that will contain the following information:
  • an objective picture that describes attendance at each branch;
  • analysis of demand for each position in the assortment of the institution;
  • determination of the busiest days and opening hours of branches;
  • proposals for improving work are being developed for each of the food outlets;
  • assessment of the effectiveness of the current marketing system;
  • conclusions regarding the functionality of the production and public premises of the institution.

The result of the audit will be a full report and a number of practical recommendations. All these data are made out in the form of the following documents:

• a plan of marketing activities aimed at eliminating errors and further developing the network of fast food establishments;
• an action plan aimed at increasing patency in each of the branches separately;
• full report on non-compliance with recommendations with recommendations for their self-rectification.

Site Audit

With the development of scientific and technological progress, having your own page on the Internet is an objective necessity for an organization aimed at success. Site audit is just as important as the enterprise as a whole. Such activities are aimed at analyzing the resource in order to identify and eliminate deficiencies, as well as promoting it in search engines. So, an audit of a web page implies such moments:

• Structural analysis. It should be optimal in terms of placement of information, as well as perception by the user. In addition, this moment is essential for the operation of search engines.
• Learning content. The information presented on the site should be of practical importance to the user. In addition, it must be unique.
• Usability. The site should be built logically and clearly for the user. In addition, it should have a nice design.
• Analysis of semantics. The content of the site should contain keywords that correspond to popular user requests in search engines. However, the resource should not be overloaded with them.
• Verification of meta tags. It is determined not only their presence, but also the content of the site.
• HTML code analysis. It carries out a full check for errors, as well as the logic of the tagging. This is one of the most important steps towards optimizing your site.
• Server operation. The correctness of the response to user requests.
• Checking the site for regulatory compliance.

It should be noted that the audit of an Internet resource is an objective necessity in modern market conditions. Based on its results, the main errors are identified, and an optimization plan is also drawn up. Nevertheless, it is worth considering that this procedure is quite expensive.

Site audit example

A rather complicated procedure is the marketing audit of the site. An example of a study can be given on the basis of the site of a construction company. This process includes the following steps:

• Analysis of entry points. These are the pages of the site that the user lands on when clicking on a link from third-party resources. So, in most cases, the main load falls on the main page. But on such important sections as a list of services or price, users rarely get to.
• Failure Analysis. For construction topics, this indicator should not exceed 40%. The main cause of failures is inappropriate traffic or technical problems on the site.
• The overall impression of the design. For a construction company, it is better to choose a neutral design. Firstly, it does not distract from the perception of basic information, and secondly, for a long time remains relevant. It is worth paying attention also to information blocks. The site should contain only relevant data, and any extra text is not allowed.
• Content and usability analysis should be done page by page. A common mistake on the main page is the placement of data in order to fill the free space. Information should be purely practical. In the section "About the company" should be present not only the presentation of the company, but also the documentation. It is recommended in each article to place noticeable links to items in the service catalog.
• An essential point is the analysis of resource navigation. It should be logical and intellectually understandable. So, often the structure of the site confuses the user. It is not permissible to create sections with similar names or with the same content. It is also unacceptable to place significant data in the second level of the menu, since users practically do not enter it.

After analyzing the experience of Internet auditors, we can distinguish the following main recommendations that they develop for enterprise sites:

• rejection of a complex and multi-level menu that can confuse the consumer;
• the orientation of the main menu should be horizontal, which ensures the most rational use of page space;
• on the main page it is recommended to place the most relevant information (for example, some items in the product catalog, special offers);
• Do not include the archive link in the menu.

The regular implementation of such a procedure as marketing audit is a prerequisite for the successful functioning of the enterprise. This activity helps to identify shortcomings in time and adjust the strategy.